Silver Lake Schools

Boys set tone with Wildcat defeat

(Video produced by Brianna Womack and Jessica Williams)

Boys set tone with Wildcat defeat

Sept. 11, 2014

By Kelsey Johnson

On Friday, Sept. 5, Silver Lake showed their power in an 18-7 win against the 4A Holton Wildcats. This proved to be the first regular season defeat for the Wildcats since 2011. An estimated crowd of 1,500 sported blue and white or maroon and gold to support their home teams.

Silver Lake looks to have relied on their strong defense to take on Holton’s offense. Senior Running Back Zach Boyd started off with a one-yard run and a 33-yard pass to Senior Wide Receiver Jace Freeman who caught the pass. This led the Eagles to a 6-0 lead at halftime.

In a game against a big opponent, the quarterback bears the pressure of performing his job well. Ryan Matzke, senior quarterback, said he tries to not let the pressure get to him. He said all the players share the pressure.

“It feels great to have started off the season playing and beating a 4A team. Just beating a 4A team is an accomplishment and for it to be Holton makes it a little sweeter.

“There is some pressure on me being the quarterback but, in all reality, I’m just another player on the team. If there is pressure on me, there is pressure on everybody else playing,” Matzke added.

Emotions can run high during such an important game. Matzke said there were many positive emotions tied to the game

“I had many emotions during the game. Excitement is the main emotion I was feeling during the game. I was very excited and pumped for this game,” Matzke shared.

Matzke said the team watched film to gain an understanding of Holton’s offense.

“We had two weeks to prepare for them since it was our first game of the season. We had film over their last game of the season last year, so we used that to gain an understanding of what they were going to do on offense. We had no idea how they were going to attack us defensively,” Matzke shared.

Big games can have high and low points. Assistant Coach Mark Workman said the high point of the game was the four defensive takeaways. Matzke said the high point of the game was getting to be a key player during the course of the game and making significant plays.

“The high point of the game for me was when we got the ball on our 10-yard line and drove it all the way down the field where I connected with Jace on a 42-yard touchdown reception.

“It’s a great feeling to be a key player in the game because everybody is relying on you and when you succeed, everybody praises you for it,” Matzke said.

According to Workman, Senior Running Back Zach Boyd and Senior Middle Linebacker Tate Schenkel were the key players.

“Zach and Tate were our key players because they were the leading players in our run defense,” Workman added.

Playing and defeating a 4A team, such as Holton, sets a positive spin on the rest of the season. Workman said that he is excited about the start to the season. Matzke said he believes this win brought motivation for the season.

“The game against Holton set the tone for the season. To start the season off with a win over a 4A team is great motivation going into the season,” Matzke shared.

Workman said he believes the players will have to work hard in the weight room and at practice to prepare for their next big opponent, who will be Perry on Sept. 12. There is a lot of preparation and anticipation for the players and coaches both.

“Our next big opponent is Perry because they are very athletic and next on our schedule,” Workman said.